Transcending the cliquishness ever apparent in the Bangkok arts world, curator Linjie Zhou has put together an exuberant group show at HOF Art. "Tropikos" features three home-grown artists and three hailing from Curitiba, Brazil.
Daydream Nation series by Jackkrit Anatakul.
More than 16,000km apart, the two cities share one thing in common — their location between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, one above the equator, the other below. Curibita and Bangkok therefore experience similar weather conditions and tropical fruits, though at different times in the calendar.
The works are diverse, vibrant and striking. They complement each other, linked by similarities rather than differences, forming a collective quilt that is both thoughtful and playful, meditative as well as boisterous.
"To be frank, I feel like the contemporary art scene in Bangkok hasn't changed much. It's always the same famous artists," says Linjie. "I thought if I could bring Brazilian artists here, I could introduce some new elements, perhaps more inspiration."
For the Brazilians, working and exhibiting in Thailand presents a unique change and a break from the Eurocentric art scene in Brazil.
Balloon by Juan Parada.
"The common way is let's show in Europe, let's do a residency in Europe, in Berlin, in Amsterdam, in Barcelona. For us this is an extraordinary experience, it's new. Everything is new. The food, the way people lead their daily lives. The time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is one of the most important things — the experience we have here, the artists we work with here," said artist Andre Mendes.
Thai artist Torlarp Larpjaroensook presents "Air Border", a series of conceptual mixed-media paintings.
"There's no border for the weather system. It doesn't know it has crossed over the border to Myanmar. It's the world's weather," he said.
He coiled copper wires to create surface weather maps on canvas. He dropped paint over them, and left the paintings out in the rain over the course of two months so that it ate away at the layers. The deeper valleys trapped thick paint. He then froze the finished paintings under a layer of clear resin to stop the oxidation process. The result is spellbinding.
"It is both my work and the work of nature," he said. Torlarp is interested in the processes that give birth to the works of art. He is fascinated by accidents — he redistributes control over his own work.
Mendes also experiments with form and process. He began his training in drawing, worked on murals, paints, and he became interested in abstract forms. He brings with him the results of his study of techniques — bold malleable globs of paint fixed in resin, acrylic squeezed between surfaces, abstract paintings that indulge in possibilities.
Fernando Franciosi reveals in his works the Brazilian soul to improvise. In Endless Series: Spiritual Excitement, there is a square table top with geometric pieces distributed randomly across the surface, some forming passages and tunnels, and a few marbles.
"No rules, no purpose, no winner," said Franciosi.
Symbiotic Sculpture VII by Juan Parada.
His works here are ironic, cheeky. They are puzzles, not exactly meant to be solved. In the "Supimpa" series, he pastes vinyl cutouts of archaic Portuguese phrases — words with now elusive meanings — above pedestrian tunnels, in an attempt to bemuse the public.
"It is in joy, not in pain, that man found his spirit," he said.
Graphic designer Jackkrit Anatakul presents Daydream Nation, a series in which he records the essence of Bangkok like a diary as he experiences the dreams, desires and struggles of its people.
"I drew after I got called out by the police to get my pee tested. Maybe I looked like I was using or something," he joked. In his works, as with other works in the exhibition, the negative is transformed into the positive.
Chalit Nakpawan and Juan Parada weave together the beauty and balance in nature. Chalit's Rueng Kluay Kluay, (roughly translated as "a piece of cake"), is bright and sunny, emulating the sabai sabai way that Chalit carries himself. The hanging curtains are interactive pieces.
Parada's ceramics are ornate and calming, organic shapes rooted in geometry. In the centre of the gallery floats Symbiotic Sculpture VII, an amoeba-like sack holding a hanging plant, held up by transparent elastics hanging from the ceiling. Parada captures the fluidity of natural forms in concrete, solid ceramics.
While each work stands on its own, together they illuminate the amalgamation of culture, based simply on tropical climates, on common points of perception conveyed through various materials and processes. In this immense space, eccentricities abound.
Tropikos is at HOF Art Space, W District, Sukhumvit 69-71, until Feb 28.
From left, Jackkrit Anatakul, Torlarp Larpjaroensook, Juan Parada, Fernando Franciosi, Andre Mendes and Chalit Nakpawan.
Air Border series by Torlarp Larpjaroensook.
